A secured loan is a type of security interest which arises when a lender and borrower agree in a security agreement that the lender, as the secured party, may take specific collateral owned by the borrower if the borrower defaults on the loan.
Typically, the collateral is personal property; for example, the collateral can be an automobile in the case of a car loan, or real property, as in the case of a house for a mortgage. When the collateral is either personal or real property, there are a variety of mechanisms which permit a borrower to resolve its priority in the collateral with respect to secured and unsecured creditors to gain value from and title to the collateral in an efficient, reliable, and timely manner. Generally, this is sufficient for the lender to loan monies to the borrower.
At times it is desirable for a lender and a borrower to secure a loan based upon an life insurance policy of the borrower. The security agreement for this type of loan is typically a collateral assignment recorded on the books of the insurance carrier that issued the life insurance policy. Such a recordation may permit the secured party to obtain title to the life insurance policy should the borrower default on the loan. For example, the collateral assignment would permit the secured party to obtain title to the policy over any unsecured creditor. However, the secured party's rights to the policy over other secured creditors of the lender is less certain, and frequently varies from state to state.
Additionally, due to the nature of life insurance, the fact that the secured party can obtain title to the insurance policy after a default may not be sufficient. For example, the value of the insurance policy may be contingent upon the payment of a premium. If the borrower, as the insured party, also fails to make premium payments, the insurance policy may be terminated by the insurance company, thereby destroying the value of the collateral. This level of risk may be unacceptable to lenders, thereby making it difficult to use an insurance policy as collateral for a loan.
Accordingly, there is a need and desire for a system and method for securing loans with one or more insurance policies.